Why You Should Break Grammar Rules On Purpose

I have always believed, in my writing, that there is a distinction between the science of writing and the art of writing. The science of writing is like math, it is formulaic and calls for rules of grammar and composition. There is also the art side of writing, which calls for free expression.

I do think that there are numerous important times, when going back for the edit, that it is important to rework a sentence or phrase to try and convey the art while maintaining grammatic integrity. I also believe there are times when it is important to ignore convention, and express the word painting in a more artistic manner. Sometimes the things that need to be conveyed in writing are not neat and orderly, like a grammar rule would make it seem. Life is messy. Emotion is messy. And sometimes writing needs to be messy too. (Did you see how I started a sentence with “and” there?)